TORONTO — Bif Naked wasn’t exactly yearning to revisit her life’s darkest moments for a deeply personal documentary.
The pop-punk singer had already mined her painful past for the 2017 memoir “I Bificus,” and she balked when her longtime manager suggested putting those stories on film for “Bif Naked.”
“It really wasn’t, nor could it ever be, my idea,” she says of the doc, which makes its pay-TV premiere Nov. 21 on Super Channel and will screen in select theatres.
She says her feelings changed when she saw the film come together, marvelling at footage she says she had never seen before and gratified that despite the oft-dark material, the film feels authentic.
“It was such an amazing process to see it all unfold. They honoured all of these beautiful stories that were really very truthful and some of them very hard to share,” says the rocker, born Beth Torbert.
Speaking on a video call from her Toronto home, Torbert is reflecting on what she calls the “misadventures” of her past, the word she uses to substitute for “trauma.”
She’s endured more than her share. As her manager posits in the film, she’s “had enough traumatic experiences for multiple lifetimes to fill numerous books.”
Now 54 years old, Torbert’s gritty pop-punk attitude may be a bit softer, but it’s still hiding behind those saucer eyes.
She says she has put some of her heavier life experiences behind her — for instance, alleged stalkers and a sexual assault in her youth. Some were mentioned in her memoir, while others weren’t.
But all those topics were brought back to the surface by filmmaker Pollyanna Hardwicke-Brown, who pressed the musician to go deeper.
“I was unprepared emotionally for … a vulnerability that I can’t even describe,” Torbert said.
“Being asked questions I had never been asked before, and talking about subjects that were not in my book.”
Almost as much as “Bif Naked” is about her success as a solo singer, it’s a film about the partnership she’s had for three decades with Peter Karroll, her manager and loudest cheerleader.
Bif Naked rose to fame in the mid-1990s after a stint in Winnipeg punk band Gorilla Gorilla. At the time, she was a music industry outsider whose rowdy confidence and no-B.S. attitude stood out among the boys. Karroll’s belief in her put the wind in the sails of those early days.
When Much started playing music videos for her rollicking rock tracks “Moment of Weakness,” “Spaceman” and “I Love Myself Today,” she became a household name in Canada.
While “Bif Naked” recounts her struggle to secure a record deal and the industry politics that ensued, the film’s most intriguing moments come from the star’s candour about her most difficult experiences.
Within its first 15 minutes, the documentary interviews Torbert’s birth mother about why she gave her up for adoption, and asks the singer to revisit the sexual assault at a high school house party that inspired her devastating ballad “Tell On You” from the 2003 album “Essentially Naked.”
Neither reflection settles on a simple conclusion.
In recounting her assault, a tearful Torbert offers empathy.
“I never thought they ruined my life,” she says in the film. “And to this day, I feel bad for those boys.”
“They have to go through the rest of their life knowing they did that, and now they have daughters of their own, and they have to live with themselves.”
When she reflects on learning she had cancer, she concludes, “It sounds (messed) up, but I’m happy that I had it. I learned a lot.”
While these feelings may be surprising to some, Torbert believes there’s value in sharing the complexity of her experiences.
“I always try and meet every human being with understanding … and that goes for stories from my past with sexual assault,” she said in reflection.
“It’s really about talking about the stories from my life and hoping they can bring a feeling of hope to other people who may have experienced the same things.”
As for what she gained with a cancer diagnosis, she says she appreciates the community she was invited into.
“It was a sorority I had never had before and I loved it,” she said. “I felt very safe. I felt very supported,” she added.
Torbert hopes to foster a similar unity atscreenings of “Bif Naked” at independent cinemas across much of Canada.
Following its Vancouver premiere earlier this month, she plans to attend dates in Toronto on Wednesday, Ottawa on Nov. 21 and Hamilton on Dec. 5, where she will participate in a Q&A and acoustic live performance.
She’s also set to appear at several dates in Alberta and Saskatchewan through March.
Aside from sharing how she overcame adversity, there may be another motive behind “Bif Naked.”
In its closing moments, several voices from Torbert’s orbit emerge to call for a greater appreciation of her influence.
Podcaster and former Much host George Stroumboulopoulos suggests a younger generation of female musicians “owe her a debt” for the doors she kicked down, while others call her a “unicorn” of the music industry who “saved so many people’s lives.”
Music publicist Eric Alper, who’s also promoting the documentary, appears on screen to call for Torbert’s consideration on Canada’s Walk of Fame and perhaps even the Order of Canada.
As for the singer, she seems more excited about developing a cinematic adaptation of her memoir, which has been in the works for several years. She’s got her eye on two different actresses she would like to see play her, though she refuses to divulge any more details.
“I guess I’m just going to hope for the best,” she says. “And hope she looks young.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
